Brightest Day and Darkest Night
by Cepheus Noir
Summary: Albus Dumbledore hears a prophecy. It deals with the downfall of a dark lord and the return of balance in the world. This is not the prophecy of Harry Potter, no, it is the Prophecy of two young wizards who in another history would be called Minerva McGonagall and Tom Riddle. AU. MM/TR Rated T cause I'm paranoid
1. Prologue: A Seer's Words

Prologue: A SEER'S WORDS Chehel Minar, Persia, August 1926

Albus Dumbledore was tired beyond all belief. He had spent most of the past few weeks practicing with some of the most powerful wizards in Europe and the Middle East, searching for new techniques and magics to bring back to teach at Hogwarts in the fall. Headmaster Dippet had sent him on this quest, and Albus had risen to the occasion as always. Now that summer's end was fast approaching, he was musing over his findings one of the many local haunts in the magically hidden city. Intriguing, thought Albus, that the wizards here would build this great city on the ruins of an even greater muggle one. It was an even greater miracle that the rumours of Grindelwald and his horrors did not reach this far…yet. While lost in thought, he failed to notice a strange man sat down beside him. The man ordered a drink, and then looked at Albus with concern.

"You seem very worried," he said. It was only then that Albus broke his train of thought and stared at the man, perplexed.

"I'm sorry?"

"I just said you seemed very worried."

Albus quickly composed himself. "I just have much to think about." He felt something foreign reach into his mind and felt quite horrified as it pulled out. He glared daggers at the man, assuming he had an explanation.

"Many apologies," the man answered, "Here it is customary to be truthful, and what you call 'legilimency' is seen as a method to see the truth." Dumbledore thought he shouldn't have been surprised by this, but he today was an off day.

"I accept your apology, and I should have been expecting that, seeing I have been in the Zagros Mountains for weeks now."

The other man's interest was peaked. "Really? How are you finding Persia, then?"  
"It truly is magnificent, in many ways," he replied. Albus began to talk of his adventures this past summer and struck up a very lively conversation with the man. Several hours and drinks later, the man realized how late it was.

"Oh blast, is it really that late? I really must get going. My name is Mansur, by the way. If you ever need lodging here in Chehel Minar, please feel free to find me." Suddenly, the man was gripped by paralysis, his eyes rolled back into his skull, and his voice became thick and layered, full of cryptic wording.

"_The world shall plunge into chaos…lead by a man who wields the wand of destiny…he shall destroy the last ties that link this world to the other plane, and will shred the veil that hides his power…but his downfall shall come from two…one born in darkness, raised by the light…the other born in light, raised by the darkness…born under justice's scales and the altar's sacrifice…together they shall bring his downfall…together they shall reunite this plane with the other…together they shall bring balance to the world."_ Mansur came out of the trance, stumbling, panting, and nearly ready to pass out. Within two strides, Albus managed to catch the faltering man, while the rest of the patrons had not even seemed to notice this episode. 'Did no one else just see this?' thought Albus. It took a few more minutes for Mansur to recover, after a few sips of water and heavy panting. Albus was about to start asking a barrage of questions when Mansur looked up at him with desperate eyes. "Please," he begged softly, "Do not reveal I am a seerby asking those questions I can see on the tip of your tongue."

"So then why did no one else notice those events?" he whispered.

"It means that only you and I were meant hear this prophecy, and since you are my witness, I must check your memory to confirm it." He promptly entered Albus' mind once more, and confirmed what he dreaded. "Yes, take heed to this prophecy, for those that it involves will come into your life, and you will need to be ready." This made Albus stand and think long and hard on what he just heard. So with twinkling eyes, he responded, "I would like to bind you to oath, so that when the time comes, you will help me with this task." Mansur, desperate to keep Albus' mouth shut, reluctantly agreed. After performing the wizard's oath, they went their separate ways. 'Tomorrow I shall return to Britain,' thought Albus. 'I need to keep my eyes peeled, and I need to be ready for anything.' It would be the beginning of many years of sleepless nights for the great Albus Dumbledore.


	2. Justice Paid

_AN: Hi everyone, so this is my first fanfic. Just hoping it goes well_

_Disclamer: I am not JKR, nor will I ever be JKR. Therefore I do not own the Harry Potter Series, its characters or its cotent_

_Comments and Questions are welcome_

_enjoy :D_

1. JUSTICE PAID Scottish Highlands, October 4, 1926

Night was descending over the highlands, and Gavin McGonagall was a nervous wreck. His wife was too fragile to take to St. Mungo's, and so healers had floo'ed into the tiny cottage with great haste. The screams of pain as she went through an arduous labour were breaking his resolve. It was a small miracle the other children were able to sleep through all this. As he paced back and forth in front of the door, his thoughts were an Isla and their child.

"Aye, yer worrying too much Gavin," stated Ewan, his brother.

"Am I?" responded Gavin, fuming. "How'd'ya expect me ta act while all **that's** happenin' behind the door?" Just as he said that, the screams abruptly stopped, replaced by the quiet mewling of a newborn child. Gavin held his breath as the healer stepped out of the room. She looked exhausted but relieved, not even noticing the blood staining her robes.

"You may go see her now," she said calmly, and without a moment's haste, Gavin had already entered the natal room. It was quite a mess, and the healers were still trying to get the afterbirth out, but there lying on the bed was Isla, barely awake, swaddling a little child in her arms. She chuckled lightly, which was surprising since she looked very frail at the moment.

"I see someone is excited to see their new daughter," whispered his wife.

"I'm just glad the worst has passed," he said, with a sincere look in his eyes. "So what should we name her?"

Isla gave a moment of thought. "How about Minerva?" she asked.

"Minerva…Minerva…it sounds perfect," he agreed and he turned his attention towards the child in his wife's arms. "Hey there. Yer a wee lass, aren't ya?" he cooed. He gently lifted his daughter out of his wife's arms and held her close. She opened her eyes to reveal their emerald hue, and a flare of magic could be felt throughout the room. Gavin felt as though this was the happiest day of his life.

It would be a shame this feeling was so fleeting.

* * *

Hecate caught sight of the cottage shortly after the moon came up, and advanced quickly towards the door. 'Time to collect this overdue debt' he thought darkly. He raised his wand and fired a spell at the door.

"Reducto!" The door shattered into many pieces, splinters going everywhere. Inside a startled wizard who had been dozing off had barely gotten to his feet, steeling himself for the stranger. 'Really?' thought Hecate, 'he shouldn't be too hard to dispose of' "Stupefy!" The stranger hits the ground instantly. "Now, where are you Gavin?" he called tauntingly. After a few seconds of silence, a door off of the main room creaked open, revealing Gavin, fear in his eyes.

"I was hoping ya wouldn't be here tonight, Hecate," said the man, voice faltering.

"Well Gavin, a debt is a debt and it must be paid. The law grants it," replied Hecate, "My master does not have patience for an overdue debt. Justice will be served."

"Please, if I could have more time-"

"You have had enough time," retorted the debt collector, his amber eyes flashing his impatience. The other wizard did not respond, and after a few moments of pregnant silence, the soft cries of a newborn echoed into the night. Gavin went pale with horror.

"So, I take the medicine to keep your wife worked then, since the child isn't obviously dead," drawled Hecate. "Since you say that you don't have the financial means, then perhaps another form of payment is in order." The response was immediate.

"If you **dare** even think of taking her, you'll have to go through me first," the wizard spat as he drew his wand.

"Come now? Do you really want to leave your home in absolute ruin?" responded the debt collector, but the other wizard had already started a barrage of spells.

"Expelliarmus! Stupefy! Arresto Momentum! Stupefy! Confundus!" Hecate manage to dodge all the spells with ease, and was able to bring him down with off balance with a simple Petrifying spell. The room had been dashed to pieces in the process. 'Oh well, 'tis not my problem,' thought Hecate as he continue towards the origin of the crying infant. Once he entered the room, he promptly stupefied the remaining healer. Scanning the threadbare room, the noises pointed him towards the bundle in the bleary-eyed woman's arms.

"Who are you?" she muttered.

"I am the debt collector. Since you have no financial means of paying, your child shall be a suitable substitute." He explained. At the sound of these words, the woman became desperately frantic.

"NO! NOT MY CHILD! PLEASE! HAVE MERCY!"

"Consider it this way. You indebted yourselves to my master to save your child's life. Therefore, that child is rightfully his, not yours. Don't dismay, yer still young, lass," adding the last part to add insult to injury. He pulled the baby out of her hands quickly and stupefied her as well. Returning to the main room, he cast a silencio on himself to avoid being heard by the last conscious person in the house as he grabbed a handful of floo powder from above the fire place. "Lestrange Manor," he declared, and in a flash of green flames, he was gone, leaving Gavin McGonagall to mourn his child alone and in silence.

* * *

1 Month Later

"GET OUT! GET OUT YOU BLOODY FREAK! YOU USED THOSE BLOODY DEMONIC CURSES ON ME TO GET ME TO GO ALONG WITH EVERYTHING! NO MORE! I NEVER LOVED YOU! YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU WITH WHO KNOWS WHAT! LEAVE! GET THE HELL OUT AND LEAVE!" Tom Riddle had turned bright magenta, and was throwing a desperate show to get out of the presence of his pathetic excuse of a wife.

Merope on the other hand, felt as though daggers were being stabbed into her heart. She felt as if there was nothing left for here anywhere. Her husband had just declared his undying hatred for her and now she was out of a home. At eight months pregnant, she wasn't sure where she could turn but she didn't care. Those words destroyed her and her world came crashing down around her. So drowning out her husband's screams, she wandered out the door, carrying nothing but her family's locket, a few muggle pounds, and her unborn child. After wandering for what seemed like hours in unfamiliar places, she sat down and completely broke down. When the sun came up the following morning she was still there, eyes completely red and full of tears.


End file.
